Which Radar and ECDIS Functionalities Do Nautical Officers Really Need in Certain Navigational Situations?

ABSTRACT: Today’s navigation systems risk information overload and display clutter due to the multitude of available functionalities and information. Different navigational situations present differing challenges to the navigator, because of varying traffic or maneuvering conditions. This suggests that the need for information and functionalities on ECDIS and radar systems depends on the navigational situation, which was investigated by means of an online questionnaire. A sea voyage was divided into three situations, ranging from narrow maneuvering in port areas, to confined navigable waters, and open sea. N = 80 navigators completed the questionnaire. A compound priority measure was calculated to express the need for each functionality. Approximately half of the functionalities were prioritized in a situation dependent manner and substantially more functionalities were prioritized higher on ECDIS than on radar systems. The results have strong implications for aligning navigation systems more with user needs in the sense of a human-centered design approach.

KEYWORDS: Navigational Situation Assessment, Radar, ECDIS (Electronic Chart Display and Information System), ECDIS Functions, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Questionnaire, Navigational Situation, ECDIS Functionalities

REFERENCES

Cohen, J.: Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Hillsdale, NJ, USA (1988).

Costa, N.A. et al.: Implementing human centred design in the context of a graphical user interface redesign for ship manoeuvring. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies. 100, 55–65 (2017). - doi:10.1016/j.ijhcs.2016.12.006

Dobbins, T. et al.: Standardised information architecture to support the Dynamic Navigation (DYNAV) standard operating procedure. The Royal Institution of Naval Architects. 7 (2016).

Douven, I.: A Bayesian perspective on Likert scales and central tendency. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review. 25, 3, 1203–1211 (2018). - doi:10.3758/s13423-017-1344-2

Endsley, M.R.: Designing for Situation Awareness: An Approach to User-Centered Design, Second Edition. CRC Press (2012).

Endsley, M.R.: Situation awareness global assessment technique (SAGAT). In: Proceedings of the IEEE 1988 National Aerospace and Electronics Conference. pp. 789–795 (1988). - doi:10.1109/NAECON.1988.195097

Ergonomics of human-system interaction - Part 210: Human centred design for interactive systems. ISO, Geneva, Switzerland (2019).

Field, A. et al.: Discovering Statistics Using R. SAGE Publications Ltd, London, UK (2012).

Grech, M., Lemon, N.: Human Centred Design for Enhanced Navigation Systems: Shifting the Focus on User Needs. Presented at the PACIFIC 2015, International Maritime Conference , Sydney, Australia October 6 (2015).

Hochgeschurz, S. et al.: Task Oriented Use of Functionalities on Ship Navigation Systems. Presented at the AHFE International Conference , Manhattan, New York, USA July 25 (2021).

International Maritime Organization: Adoption of the revised performance standards for electronic chart display and information systems (ECDIS), MSC.232(82). , London, UK (2006).

International Maritime Organization: Adoption of the revised performance standards for radar equipment, MSC.192(79). , London, UK (2004).

International Maritime Organization: Report of the Maritime Safety Committee on its eighty-fifth session. MSC 85/26. , London, UK (2008).

Jacobson, E., Lützhöft, M.: Developing User Needs for S-Mode. Presented at the NAV08-ILA37 International Navigation Conference (2008).

Leiner, D.J.: SoSci Survey. (2019).

Mair, P., Wilcox, R.: Robust statistical methods in R using the WRS2 package. Behavior Research Methods. 52, 2, 464–488 (2020). - doi:10.3758/s13428-019-01246-w

van de Merwe, F. et al.: Crew-centred Design of Ships – The CyClaDes Project. Transportation Research Procedia. 14, 1611–1620 (2016). - doi:10.1016/j.trpro.2016.05.126

Praetorius, G. et al.: Increased Awareness for Maritime Human Factors through e-learning in Crew-centered Design. Procedia Manufacturing. 3, 2824–2831 (2015). - doi:10.1016/j.promfg.2015.07.762

Prison, J. et al.: Ship sense—striving for harmony in ship manoeuvring. WMU Journal of Maritime Affairs. 12, 1, 115–127 (2013). - doi:10.1007/s13437-013-0038-5

Rødseth, Ø.J., Nordahl, H.: Definitions for Autonomous Merchant Ships, https://nfas.autonomous-ship.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/autonom-defs.pdf, last accessed 2021/03/27.

Sakidin, S. et al.: Potential causes of collisions at sea through the HTI perspective (technology management). The Turkish Online Journal of Design, Art and Communication - TOJDAC. 1906–1915 (2018).

Salkind, N.J.: Encyclopedia of Research Design. SAGE Publications Inc, Thousand Oaks, CA, USA (2010).

Sandhåland, H. et al.: Situation awareness in bridge operations – A study of collisions between attendant vessels and offshore facilities in the North Sea. Safety Science. 79, 277–285 (2015). - doi:10.1016/j.ssci.2015.06.021

Vu, V.D. et al.: Frequency of use – the First Step Toward Human-Centred Interfaces for Marine Navigation Systems. Journal of Navigation. 72, 5, 1089–1107 (2019). - doi:10.1017/S0373463319000183

Citation note:

Hochgeschurz S., Motz F., Grundmann R., Kretzer S., Thiele L.: Which Radar and ECDIS Functionalities Do Nautical Officers Really Need in Certain Navigational Situations?. TransNav, the International Journal on Marine Navigation and Safety of Sea Transportation, Vol. 15, No. 1, doi:10.12716/1001.15.01.06, pp. 73-81, 2021

BibTeX EndNote

Authors in other databases:

Stephanie Hochgeschurz:

Florian Motz:

Robert Grundmann: Scopus icon

57220783056